Selected CV

A full resume is available here

Contact Information

Computer Science Department
Union College
Steinmetz Hall 207
807 Union St.
Schenectady, NY 12308 USA

• Voice:* (518) 388-6062
• E-mail:* rieffelj@union.edu
• WWW:* www.cs.union.edu/~rieffelj

Education

Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 2001 - 2006

• Ph.D., Computer Science, May 2006

• M.A., Computer Science, May 2004

Dissertation Topic: Evolutionary Fabrication: The Co-Evolution of Form and Formation

Advisor: Jordan Pollack, DEMO Lab

Swarthmore College, Swarthmore, Pennsylvania 1995 - 1999

• B.S., Engineering, May 1999

• B.A., Computer Science, May 1999

Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Clown College, Baraboo, Wisconsin1994

• B.F.A. (Bachelor of Funny Arts), October 1994

Appointments and Positions

Union College, Schenectady, NY

• Chair, Computer Science Department 2021-2025

• Professor, Computer Science Departmentsince September, 2023-

• Associate Professor*, Computer Science DepartmentSeptember, 2015 - August 2023

• Assistant Professor*, Computer Science DepartmentSeptember, 2009 - August, 2015

Research and Professional Experience

Visiting Researcher, University of Lorraine May-June 2016

• LARSEN/Resibots Team*: integrated tensegrity robots with the LIMBO algorithm in order to produce robust locomotion.

Postdoctoral Associate, Tufts University February 2008 - July 2009

• Biomimetic Devices Laboratory*: Desinging caterpillar-inspired soft robots.

Postdoctoral Associate, Cornell University June 2006 - December 2007

• Cornell Computational Synthesis Laboratory*: Research focused on modeling and controlling tensegrity-based robots.

Biology Department, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA 2002 - 2006

• Software and Systems Consultant.* Lead Developer for LifeSongX, behavioral and acoustical analysis software, used primarily to studydrosophila courtship.

Bluefin Robotics, Cambridge, MA. 2001

• Software Engineer*. Developed and refined key components and device drivers for their QNX-based real-time software for Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) control.

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUV) Lab, MIT, Cambridge, MA 1999-2001

• Research Engineer*. Assisted in developing, building and piloting the lab’s new class of robotic submersibles. Over 15 weeks of at-sea deployment.

Professional Training

Cultural Competence in Computing (3C) Fellows Program, Duke University 2021-22 A year long program from Duke University that helps computing faculty learn more about DEI issues and develop course content or other interventions in their department to foster more inclusive and equitable environments.

CSinParallel Virtual Summer Workshop 2021 A 2.5-day NSF-funded hands-on training workshop on OpenMP parallel computing and MPI distributed computing on both Raspberry Pi and remote high-performance systems and clusters, discussions about how to teach parallel and distributed computing (PDC), an introduction to materials for teaching “parallel thinking,”.

ToUCH Virtual Workshop on Teaching Heterogeneous Parallel Computing 2022 A multi-day online workshop on teaching parallel computing on heterogeneous systems, covering GPU programming with OpenMP and CUDA, heterogeneous architectures, hybrid algorithms and task mapping and scheduling on heterogeneous systems.

Grants and Awards (selected)

(2025)\ FRR: Collaborative Research: EvoFab - A Robotic Factory Capable of Integrated Evolutionary Design, Fabrication, and Testing of Soft Robots (NSF) ($306,200)

(2023) Rieffel, J., Mercator Fellowship, awarded by Stifung Mercator in support of DFG SPP2100 Soft Material Robotics Systems Program.

(2019) Rieffel, J., EAGER: Behavioral Repertoires for Soft Robotics (NSF Award ID NRI-1939930) $49,952

(2018) Rieffel, J., Webb, N., Currey, J., Fleishman, L., Kirkton, S. , MRI: Acquisition of a High Resolution High Speed 3D Motion Tracking System for Multi-Disciplinary Research and Research Training, (NSF Award ID DBI-1827495) $272,430

(2015) Kirkton, S., Rieffel, J., Fleishman, L., Olberg, R., and Currey, J. "MRI: Acquisition of a High-Resolution Micro-Computed Tomography System for Multidisciplinary STEM Research and Undergraduate Training" (NSF Award ID DBI-1531850) $379,130

(2013) Rieffel, J., Anderson, A., Rice, S. “MRI: Acquisition of a Multi-Material 3D Printer to Enable Novel Multi-disciplinary Research and Research Training” (NSF Award ID CMMI-1337768) $333,531

Publications

Available on my Google Scholar Profile and my CV